Dental instrument

ABSTRACT

A dental instrument composed of a substantially flat plate member, e.g., a mirror, and a saliva ejector consisting of a tubular member attached at one end to a suction line and at the other end to a plate which can act as the mirror and which has peripheral portions which define, in association with a removable resilient member, a channel connected to the suction line. The resilient member contains perforations through which the saliva and other liquids in the oral cavity pass from the mouth through the channel and to the suction line.

iiitQ States Patent [72] Inventor MatrriceGJmssier 2,436,040 2/1948Friedman.....................

222 Maple Street, Lynn, Mass. 01904 [21] Appl. No. 38,445

Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock AttorneyPhilip G. Kiely [22] FiledMay18,1970 [45] Patented Jan.4, 1972 ABSTRACT: A dental instrumentcomposed of a substantially flat plate member, e.g., a mirror, and asaliva ejector consisting of a tubular member attached at one end to asuction line and at the other end to a plate which can act as the minorand which has peripheral portions which define, in association with aremovable resilient member, a channel connected to the suction line. Theresilient member contains through which the saliva and other 1' c m A Fm m M: m m U.m m m RW m m h S n C ND 0 r. 2 0" LS Km Am L m u EC S D6U.mF H HUN 5 "D55 perforations lqurds m the oral cavity annel and to thesuction [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,202,264 10/1916pass from the mouth through the ch line.

DENTAL INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During dental operations,such as drilling, filling, and the like, it is desirable and in somecases necessary that the work area in the mouth be maintained as free ofliquid as possible. The use of high-speed burrs which require the use ofa liquid coolant continuously applied at the point of drill contactmakes the use of a fluid ejector from the mouth even more important. Theuse of such a device, which is commonly known as a saliva ejector, hasbeen commonly combined with a mirror in order to provide the dentistwith a mirror to view the work area and which does not have to be handheld, thus freeing the dentist from one operation.

Such devices suffer from several deficiencies, however. Mirrors aregenerally composed of polished stainless steel and have to be relativelythin to pennit the easy insertion into the mouth. The contact of theoral tissues and the stainless steel may result in irritation to thetender tissues or even cut them. Debris from the dental work or even theoral tissue itself may clog the orifices which aspirate the fluid fromthe mouth, thus reducing the effectiveness of the instruments. Becauseof the above-mentioned debris which may be entrapped within the deviceand because of the complexity of the design, it is often difficult toclean and maintain the device in sterile condition.

A novel device has now been found which is not susceptible to thedeficiencies of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The novel saliva ejector of the presentinvention is composed of a substantially flat plate, preferably apolished plate, or mirror, the edges of which are composed of a raisedportion in a concave, arcuate configuration. Surrounding and enclosingsubstantially the entire arcuate edge portion is a perforated resilienttubular member thereby forming a channel between said tubular member andthe arcuate edge portion. The channel is releasably connected to anelongated tubular member or handle which in turn is connected to asuction device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding ofthe nature and scope of the invention, reference may be made to thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the instrument of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view of the mirror portion ofthe device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directedto a combination dental mirror and saliva ejector. The novel device ofthe present invention combines the features of a mirror so designed asto free the dentist from manually holding the mirror in position in themouth, and an eflicient saliva ejector which will maintain the workingarea of the mouth free of liquid, which will function over extendedperiods without clogging, and which is easily cleaned and sterilized bydismantling the components. In addition, because the major portion ofthe device contacting the mouth is nonmetallic, the device isconsiderably more comfortable to the patient and less damaging to thetissue with which it comes in contact.

The device is composed of a substantially flat plate, preferably ofpolished metal, generally rectangular in shape, the periphery of whichis composed of an arcuate portion that extends vertically beyond bothsurfaces of the plate. The arc defined by the above-described peripheralportion is convex with respect to the plate; that is, the open side ofthe peripheral portion is the side away from the plate surface orconcave with respect to one viewing the edge of the plate. In otherwords, the peripheral portion has the appearance of a tube attached toand surrounding the flat plate which has had its outer half, i.e., thehalf farthest from the mirror, cut away, leaving an open, semicircularcanal.

Over the raised peripheral edge portion of the plate is fitted aresilient tube split on one side along the long axis, so that the splitportion can engage opposite surfaces of the plate. Because resilientmaterial, such as rubber is employed, the tube can easily be deformed toattach over the raised peripheral portions of the mirror, but since onlythe opening in the tube to accomplish this is only a split" or a smallsegment removed from the tube, and further, since the tube is preferablyformed in substantially the same shape as the peripheral edge portions,the resilient tube is held firmly in position around the mirror duringuse.

The resilient tube and peripheral arcuate edge portion together define acontinuous passage or channel extending around substantially the entireperiphery of the plate. The channel communicates, through appropriateconnection and auxiliary tubing, to a source of suction. The resilienttube contains a plurality of holes, the majority of which are located onthe wall of the tube opposite the arcuate edge portions so that theabove-mentioned suction will act through said holes drawing in liquidfrom the work area and removing it into the suction system. Because ofthe relatively large number of holes or perforations which can belocated in the resilient tube, if debris from the work area should clogsome of the holes, the effectiveness of the device is not impaired. Inthe event that an unusually large quantity of debris is present, causingextensive blockage of the devices channels, the device can be removedfrom the mouth, the resilient member removed, the entire inner channelsof the device cleaned under running water, reassembled and inserted inthe patients mouth in a matter of seconds or a replacement may beinserted. Similarly, the feature of easy dismantling provides forefficient sterilization, between patients, by conventional sterilizationtechniques.

Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the dental instrument 10of the present invention composed of tubular handle 11 with externalconnection means 12 on one end adapted to be connected to a suctionsystem such as that conventionally found in a dental office. Theopposite end of handle 11 is connected to a head composed of asubstantially flat polished plate 13, preferably stainless steel, with areflecting surface on at least one side thereof. The periphery of plate13 is an arcuate member 14 surrounding substantially the entire edgeportion of plate 13. In engaging relationship and surrounding arcuatemember 14 is resilient. tubular member 15 having a plurality ofperforations 16 therein. The wall opposite perforations 16 is preferablysplit to engage opposing surfaces of plate 13, whereby said member 15 isin removable engagement with plate 13.

Resilient tubular member 15 and arcuate member 14 define channel 17therebetween which feeds into connection tube 18, which is adapted to bereleasably connected to tubular handle 11.

In an alternative embodiment, a jaw-engaging member 20, slidably mountedon tubular handle 11 and'adapted to be fixed in position by clamp 21, isemployed to fix the dental instrument in one position in the mouth andprevent its dislodgement from said position by the tongue of thepatient, etc.

The plate is preferably metallic. Alternatively, the plate may becomposed of a nonmetallic material with, optionally, a reflectingsurface attached thereto. For example, a synthetic polymeric material,such as polystyrene, may have a metallized reflecting surface thereon.

The resilient tubular member is preferably composed of a rubberymaterial such as silicone rubber but may also be prepared from a varietyof synthetic polymeric materials, such as styrene butadiene copolymerand the like. It is only necessary that the materials employed benontoxic and sufficiently flexible to permit ready application to andremoval from the mirror portion of the device.

The actual dimensions of the arcuate edge portion and the resilienttubular member only require that sufficient engagement be supplied tohold the resilient member in position.

Thus, while FIG. 2 illustrates the preferred configuration, the heightof the arcuate walls, and the split in the resilient tube, need only beselected to provide the above-described engagement therewith.

What is claimed is: l. A dental instrument comprising: an elongatedtubular handle; external connecting means at a first end of said handlefor connection with a suction line; a plate having an arcuate peripheralportion wherein said arcuate portion is convex with regard to saidplate; a resilient nonmetallic tubular member removably mounted over andengaging said arcuate peripheral portion around a major portion of saidplate; said arcuate peripheral portion and a segment of said tubu larmember defining a channel therebetween; said tubular member containingperforations in the walls thereof and communicating with said channel,said perforations being opposite said arcuate peripheral portion; and

connecting means between said channel and said tubular handle.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said plate has a reflectingsurface.

3. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said plate is stainlesssteel and said tubular member is silicone rubber.

4. The device as defined in claim I wherein said plate is substantiallyrectangular in shape.

5. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said tubular member is splitalong the longitudinal axis and the opposite edges of said split engageopposite surfaces of said plate.

6. The device as defined in claim 1 which includes ajaw-cngaging memberadjustably mounted on said tubular handle.

1. A dental instrument comprising: an elongated tubular handle; externalconnecting means at a first end of said handle for connection with asuction line; a plate having an arcuate peripheral portion wherein saidarcuate portion is convex with regard to said plate; a resilientnonmetallic tubular member removably mounted over and engaging saidarcuate peripheral portion around a major portion of said plate; saidarcuate peripheral portion and a segment of said tubular member defininga channel therebetween; said tubular member containing perforations inthe walls thereof and communicating with said channel, said perforationsbeing opposite said arcuate peripheral portion; and connecting meansbetween said channel and said tubular handle.
 2. The device as definedin claim 1 wherein said plate has a reflecting surface.
 3. The device asdefined in claim 1 wherein said plate is stainless steel and saidtubular member is silicone rubber.
 4. The device as defined in claim 1wherein said plate is substantially rectangular in shape.
 5. The deviceas defined in claim 1 wherein said tubular member is split along thelongitudinal axis and the opposite edges of said split engage oppositesurfaces of said plate.
 6. The device as defined in claim 1 whichincludes a jaw-engaging member adjustably mounted on said tubularhandle.